Block type panel indicator light



l Jan. 28, 1958A F. A, HARRINGTON ETAL 2,821,700

BLocx IYPEPANEL INDICATOR LIGHT Filed May '7, 195e" `vl. an"

ATTORNEY 2,821,700 BLOCK TYPE PANEL INDICATOR LIGHT Frank A. Harrington, Brea, and Thomas W. Jentges,

Santa Ana, Calif., assignors to Marco Industries Company, Inc., Anaheim, Calif., a corporation of California Application May 7, 1956, Serial No. 583,094

3 Claims. (Cl. 340-381) This invention relates to illuminated indicators of the type commonly known as block indicators, wherein a plurality of small electric lamps are mounted within a casing. of hollow block form, the forward wall of the casing being translucent and in some cases carrying in dicia for identifying the signal which is indicated by the illumination thereof. monly used on instrument panels (such as those of aircraft) where a fairly large number of operative units (e. g. servo-units of all kinds) are operated by remote control and require an indication of operating condition.

The conventional block indicator embodies a pair of elongated tubular bulb sockets projecting rearwardly from the hollow casing block which forms the head of the unit. Space must be provided to accommodate these rearwardly projecting bulb sockets. Furthermore, these United States Patent O Such indicator lamps are comi elongated sockets have appreciable weight, and when a large number of the indicator units are involved, the weight may be such that a substantial reduction therein may be an important consideration.

' With the foregoing in mind, the general object of this invention is to provide an indicator lamp of the block indicator type, which is greatly reduced in its space requirements. j y

A further object is to provide a block indicator which effects a very substantial weight reduction. A specific object is to eliminate completely the tubular socket elements of the prior block indicators, and to provide an indicator embodying a relatively shallow rectangular casing having the socket or lamp holding terminals entirely enclosed therein.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing specification and appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away and in section, of one form of the indicator;

Fig. 2 is a rear plan view of the back panel unit thereof;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the indicator;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the same taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partially broken away and shown in section, showing a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof; and

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view thereof, taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, l have shown in Figs. l-4 thereof, as an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, an improved block indicator comprising a back panel 11 adapted to be mounted against the forward face of an instrument panel, a terminal socket assembly 12 mounted thereon, and a hollow block casing cap 13 received over the terminal assembly 12 and back panel 11 and cooperating with the latter to enclose the assembly 12 and the lamps (electric light bulbs) 14 mounted therein.

The invention is characterized by the arrangement of indicator lamps 14 within the rectangular space inside casing cap 13 so as tov take maximum advantage of this 2,821,700 Patented Jamas, s

rectangular space and at the same time provide for a relatively simple and satisfactory construction in the terminal socket unit 12. This is accomplished by arranging for the lamps 14 to lie in a common plane parallel to back panel 11, accommodated in the shallow chamber defined between panel 11 and cap 13. The lamps 14 are arranged so that their filaments are each roughly centered below a respective half of the area of the front face of cap 13. In this particular form of the invention, the filaments are centered in respective area which lie on respective sides of a plane normal to and bisecting the longitudinal axis of the casing. This may be accomplished by arranging the socket unit 12 in the center of the rectangular space within casing 13, and by having the lamps 14 projecting therefrom in opposite directions on a common longitudinal axis so as to occupy the end spaces at the respective ends of the terminal unit 12. The common longitudinal axis of lamps 14 is the longitudinal center line of the casing, midway between the sides thereof.

The terminal unit 12 (Figs. 3 and 4) includes a double yoke element constituting a common ground terminal for the two lamps, and providing a pair of yokes in which the base capsules 17 of the respective lamps are received and held. To this end, ground terminal unit 16 includes a pair of generally U-shaped yokes 19.

.Back panel 11 has apertures such as 40 therein, for reception of the screws, bolts or rivets used in attaching the unit to an instrument panel or the like, and has, at its respective ends, a pair of parallel arms 41 for supporting casing cap 13. Cap 13 has a front wall 42, in which letters or other indicia may be engraved or molded in some cases; and has side walls 44 and end walls 45, the latter having opposed recesses 46 positioned to receive latching lugs 47 on arms 4l. Arms 41 are suiciently resilient to yield toward one another in order to allow lugs 4'7 to spring into recesses 46.

Panel 11 and cap 13 may be of molded plastic material, with cap 13 translucent so as to transmit illumination from lamps 14, sufficiently to cause indicia 43 to be made clearly legible.

With base capsules 17 engaged between arms of the respective yoke portions of socket unit 16, and with end contacts 23y engaged against contact arms 27 of contact unit 24, the two lamps are connected in parallel to a current supply circuit communicating with terminal posts 33, 36. The filaments of lamps 14 are substantially centered beneath the respective halves of the area beneath front wall 42, so as to distribute the illumination as uniformly as possible in wa1l42.

The casing.7 including back panel 11 and cap 13, is long and narrow. This form of the invention is particularly useful where the indicator may require a line of several words, which may be imprinted in the front panel 42 of cap 13 in a manner to be contrast-illuminated when the lamps are lit. Side walls 44 of cap 13 are spaced apart just sufficiently to provide a space slightly wider than the diameter of a la-mp 14.

The ground terminal socket unit 12 embodies an elongated web portion 23 extending longitudinally of and secured to back panel 11 by means of a terminal post 36 and a rivet 39, the latter being insulated from web 23 by a small washer 5l which surrounds the rivet and is disposed in an opening in web 23. Web 23 is of considerably less width than back panel 11 and is disposed at one side thereof, leaving a space at the other side which is lled by a strip of insulating material 57. Strip 57is interposed between an insulator sheet 26 and back panel 11. yContact yokes 16 each comprises an opposed pair of contact arms 19 integrally joined at their base ends by a base web 58. Webs 58 are formed integrally with,

. 3 and project laterally from the respective ends of web 23. Arms :are bowed as indicated in Fig. 4 to embrace and support the respective lamps 14 on a common `axis which is the median longitudinal axis of the casing.

The end contacts 28 of lamps 14 are arranged adjacent each other and are engaged against the outwardly bowed contact fingers 27 of a live terminal unit 24. The foot ends of fingers 27 are bent at rig-ht angles to provide terminal unit 24 with a foot portion 31 which is secured against an insulator plate 26 by means of rivets 39 at one end thereof and a terminal post 33 at the opposite end thereof. Post 33 has a shank extending through back panel `and through foot portion 31 land headed over the latter.

Lamps 14 bear against end members 41 of back panel 1l, being yieldingly pressed thereag-ainst by spring pressure in the bowed contact fingers 27. Yoke fingers 19 likewise are spring pressed against the sides of the lamp bases, and thus the lamps are securely held against vibration.

The ends 45 of cap 42 are latched to end members 41 in the same manner as in the previously described forms of the invention7 and similar reference characters are used to designate the latching parts.

Figs. -7 show a modified form of the invention wherein a common ground terminal unit 1Gb (Fig. 7) comprises a wide yoke adapted to embrace two lamps 14 between its two arms 19h, the latter being bent or bowed outwardly so as to embrace the lamps in a manner to support them. The adjacent sides of the lamps are pressed against each other by lthe yielding inward spring pressure of arms 19.11, as indicated in Fig. 5. Arms 19h are joined by a base web 2Gb which is secured against an insulating sheet 26h -by means of a terminal post 33b and a rivet 39h. The post 33h and rivet 39b are extended through back panel 11b and are headed against the inner face of web 20b to secure the same to the back panel. Terminal unit 16b may be fabricated simply from a length of ribbon or strap metal, with the web 20b being in the form of a narrow strip extending transversely to back panel 11b, midway between the ends thereof.

Interposed between insulator sheet 26h and back panel 11b is the base web 23b of the hot terminal socket unit 24h. Web 23b is secured in place by a terminal post 33h and a rivet 39h. A small washer 51 of insulating material which is received in an opening in web 23b surrounds rivet 39h so as to insulate web 23b from web 20b. The shank of terminal post 33b is likewise insulated from web 23b by a washer S2 which fills an aperture in web 23b.

A terminal post 36b has a shank which extends through back panel 11b and through web 23b and has a riveted head countersunk in web 23b to establish electrical connection therewith, the head lying below insulator sheet 26b as shown in Fig. 6.

As indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, the terminal unit 24b is X-shaped; including the web portion 20b which extends transversely of back panel 11b; including arms 53 which extend longitudinally of panel 11b in opposite directions from respective ends of web 23b, with one of the arms 53 extending along one side of panel 11b and the other arm 53 extending along the other side of panel 11b; and including contact fingers 27b extending upwardly from the ends of arms S3 for engagement with the end contacts 28 of lamp 14. The central web portion 23b of terminal unit 24h is aligned with the web 2Gb of terminal unit 16b and lies directly beneath the same, separated therefrom by the insulator sheet 26b.

With the contact fingers 19b disposed at respective sides of the back panel 11b and with the contact fingers Z7b disposed at respective ends thereof, it becomes possible to cover the area of back panel 11b almost completely by two lamps 14 disposed side by side as shown in Fig. 5, with the filaments thereof spaced apart along a diagonal line extending between two corners of the panel. Thus the filaments are roughly lcentered over the two half areas of the panel which are divided by a diagonal line extending between the other two corners tlelredlf, and there is a relatively uniform distribution o ig t.

Lamps 14 are positioned longitudinally by the engagement of the glass bulbs thereof against end members 41!) which are integral with and extend upwardly from the respective ends of back panel 11b, the opposite ends of the lamps being engaged by the yielding spring pressure of contact lingers 27b against contacts 28, whereby the bulbs are pressed against end members 41b. With thc outer sides of the respective bulbs cradled in the bowed central portions of contact fingers 19b and receiving yielding pressure therefrom, and with the inner sides of the bulbs directly engaging each other, the bulbs will bc securely held between the fingers 19h in a plane parallel to back panel 11b indicated by the line 55. The axes of the lamps 14 will be centered in this plane. Even under the most severe vibration, the bulbs will not be displaced from their centered positions in plane 55.

The casing cap 13b, corresponding to cap 13 except that its sides 44b are shorter, receives the panel 11b and end members 41b and its ends 45h are latched to the end members 41h by the latching dimples 47 and recesses 46.

The total area of the indicator device of Figs. 1-4 is approximately the same as that of Figs. 5-7, although it is of course distributed differently, being long and narrow as contrasted to the short and wide area of Figs. 5-7. Maximum utilization of space within the casing is a characteristic of both forms of the invention. The lamp filaments are arranged near the respective ends of the casing so that satisfactory distribution of light from end to end of the casing is obtained.

In each form of the invention, the translucent plastic material of the casing cap functions as a light distributing medium, the light rays traveling lengthwise of the front panel and being emitted therefrom throughout its entire length and breadth. In each case, the lamps are mounted in a common plane in fairly compact relation, for maximum utilization of minimum space, and the only parts that project rearwardly from the back panel are the contact posts which are adapted to enter the apertures of the conventional mounting panel and need only be long enough to pass through the thickness of the mounting panel and project beyond the rear face thereof just sufficiently to make it possible to conveniently solder conductor wires thereto. The necessity for utilizing space behind the panel to accommodate relatively deep rcceptacles for the lamp bases of the conventional light unit, is eliminated in the present invention.

This application is a division of my pending application U. S. Serial No. 350,116, filed April 21., 1953 for Block Type Panel Indicator Light, which issued as Patent No. 2,745,094, on May 8, 1956.

We claim:

1. A casing and socket assembly for a multiple lamp block indicator panel light, utilizing a plurality of lamps each having a ground contact base capsule, a live contact at one end thereof and a light transmitting bulb at the other end thereof, said casing and socket assembly comprising: a multiple socket assembly; an elongated, narrow casing comprising a base section of open U-shape, consisting in an elongated back panel and arms projecting forwardly from the respective ends of said back panel and at right angles thereto, and a shallow cap of light transmitting material, including a front display panel to ovcrlie said lamps and to be illuminated thereby, including end walls arranged to embrace said arms of the base section and to interengage therewith so as to secure said cap to said base section, and including side walls cooperating with said end walls to circumscribe an elongated, narrow, shallow space to receive said base section, said 'socket assembly and said lamps; said multiple socket assembly comprising a sheet metal ground terminal unit secured to said back panel, said terminal unit having a web and ground contact legs to embrace and to establish common ground contact with the base capsules of said plurality of lamps and to support the lamps in positions wherein their longitudinal axes lie in a common plane parallel to said back panel; a live terminal unit having live contact arms positioned to engage said live contacts of the respective lamps and to determine positions of said lamps wherein said bulbs project in opposite directions from the center of said panel and wherein each is substantially centered with reference to a respective half of the area thereof; said lamps being disposed on a common axis constituting the median longitudinal axis of the casing, with said live contacts of the lamps in adjacent opposed relation and said live contact arms interposed between said live contacts; said ground legs being formed at respective ends of said web which integrally joins them and extends longitudinally along said back panel.

2. A casing and socket assembly as defined in claim l, wherein said web is relatively narrow, extending along one side of said back panel and leaving an area on the other side of the panel, and a terminal connection for said live contact unit projecting through said base panel in said area.

3. A casing and socket assembly for a multiple lamp block indicator panel light, utilizing a plurality of lamps each having a ground contact base capsule, a live contact at one end thereof and a light transmitting bulb at the other end thereof, said casing and socket assembly comprising: a multiple socket assembly; a casing comprising a base section of open U-shape, consisting in an elongated back panel and arms projecting forwardly from the respective ends of said back panel and at right angles thereto, and a shallow cap of light transmitting material, including a front display panel to overlie said lamps and to be illuminated thereby, including end walls arranged to embrace said arms of the base section and to interengage therewith so as to secure said cap to said base section, and including side walls cooperating with said end walls to circumscribe an elongated, shallow space to receive said base section, said socket assembly and said lamps; said multiple socket assembly comprising a sheet metal ground terminal unit secured to said back panel, said terminal unit having ground contact legs to embrace and to establish common ground contact with the base capsules of said plurality of lamps and to support the lamps in positions wherein their longitudinal axes lie in a common plane parallel to said back panel; a live terminal unit having live contact arms positioned to engage said live contacts of the respective lamps and to determine positions of said lamps wherein said bulbs project in opposite directions from the center of said panel and wherein each is substantially centered with reference to a respective half of the area thereof; said back panel having a length just slightly more than the length of a lamp; said lamps being arranged in a pair side-by-side; and said ground terminal unit comprising a single yoke, substantially twice the width of a lamp, with said ground contact legs embracing remote sides of the pair of lamps and with the adjacent sides of the lamps directly engaging one another.

No references cited. 

